When the water at Clarks Hill heats up for the summer, striped bass have two places to hang out where they can survive the heat. Deep water in the lower end offers thermal refuge for the majority of the lakes striped and hybrid bass. They hold deep near the thermocline where cooler water and higher dissolved-oxygen levels see them through til cooler weather arrives.

A day-lighter? For many of us, the first one was compliments of Peter Benchleys movie Jaws. When the music intentionally lulled us into a relaxed state in the middle of that high-tension thriller, then they thrust that great white sharks opened maw onto the wide screen in full attack mode, fright lifted viewers so far out of their movie seats that you could see daylight below.

Outdoorsmen who enjoy fishing often dream about owning a cottage or second home on a fish-filled lake where the front walkway serves as the yellow-brick road to a pier or boathouse where adventure begins.

The day dawned, one of those mid-summer beauties you hope for when heading out into the ocean. While he didnt voice his concerns to the happy charter in the cockpit, the captain was concerned it might be just a little too nice and the fish wouldnt cooperate, even though hed been catching fish in one area for more than a week.

Its a point guard trying to beat his defender off the dribble, a cornerback trying to stay inside the jersey of the wide receiver hes covering, a hunter in full camo with his back up against an oak tree, trying to lure a lovesick gobbler into shotgun range.

During the War Between the States, actively fought off the North Carolina coast from 1861 through 1865, the Union attempted to prevent goods from reaching Southern ports by creating shipping blockades with its navy.